The new Workplace Health and Safety Regulations (WHSR) have come into effect. These regulations replaced the current Fall Protection and Scaffolding Regulations; Temporary Workplace Traffic Control Regulations, and Occupational Health Regulations. In addition, the Occupational Safety General Regulations have been amended to make them consistent with the WHS.

Get involved with the new Industry-led, Industry-driven Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency. The Minister will appoint a small, inaugural Apprenticeship Board to advise the new Agency in its early days. This Board will then serve as a recruitment committee to fill the remaining seats on the Board.

A complete listing of the Agencies, Boards, and Commissions will be posted at www.novascotia.ca/exec_council/abc/ . Non-Adjudicative submissions are accepted at any time, but consideration begins May 12, 2014.

CANS was proud to announce at the 2014 De-Icer that it is, along with the generous support of the industry, supporting a monumental fundraising campaign for the IWK. Our contribution will help re-build a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit.

Together, CANS members have committed to raising $1.5 million for the NICU.

To date, we have raised close to ONE MILLION DOLLARS to date!

This is about building a better community for our families, our neighbors and our friends.

We encourage you to become a champion for the CANS campaign for the IWK and experience how great it feels giving these children a brighter future. Learn more about the IWK CANS Campaign.

CANS is partnering with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management, to deliver the Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership, a five month long cohort made based experience consisting of 15 courses where participants will develop critical leadership and industry specific behaviours, skills and attitudes.

PRESS RELEASEA new Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership will be introduced at Dalhousie’s University in the fall of 2014

The new professional development program is the result of a partnership between the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) and the Faculty of Management’s Executive Education Program.

The Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership is designed to support high potential candidates in Nova Scotia’s construction industry, developing the knowledge, behaviours, skills and competencies demanded from leaders in the sector. The program consists of 15 courses designed to develop leadership skills delivered through a blend of on-line and face-to-face learning. The program will also satisfy 25 educational credits for qualified candidates seeking to obtain their Gold Seal Accreditation, a nationally recognized level of experience and competence.

Dalhousie brought its innovative approach to the field of executive education in the fall of 2012 with the launch of a cohort-based leadership and management development program, which is adapted specifically to the needs and context of organizations in order to enhance productivity, efficiency and profitability.

“With the success of our first four cohorts from the Halifax Port Authority, IMP and Lindsay Construction, we have continued to refine our programming, enabling their teams to contribute to the success and long-term sustainability of their organizations and for individuals to enhance their professional profiles. Through our relationship with our partners at CANS, we’re pleased to open the doors to a different kind of cohort – individuals who are associated with the construction industry. What they have in common is not their company, but the vertical in which they work,” said Peggy Cunningham, Dean, Dalhousie Faculty of Management.

CANS partnered with Dalhousie University to further its mandate to deliver world-class leadership development training. “At CANS we work with organizations to help them become more productive and efficient, to develop their capacity and the capabilities of their people, and to attract and retain the future leaders of our industry,” said President Duncan Williams.

The Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership program was officially launched at a ceremony held in the Rowe Management Building on Feb. 10. Premier Stephen McNeil and a wide range of representatives from the construction industry were in attendance along with Labour and Advanced Education Minister Kelly Regan, and Dalhousie University President Richard Florizone.

“The partnership we have established with CANS is just one of many examples of how we intend to work to be an integral part of the growing prosperity of our province, our region and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the first cohort to the Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership to Dalhousie in the fall of 2014 – they represent the future of a more competitive, productive and efficient construction industry in Nova Scotia,” said Florizone.

(CANS represents over 760 large and small companies that build, renovate and restore non-residential buildings, roads, bridges and other engineering projects. As an industry trade association CANS represents the interests of contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country.)

Industry representatives are invited to attend an update on the changes underway to Nova Scotia’s Apprenticeship system, and participate in identifying the priorities for the new agency. This event will take place on Wednesday, February 26, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Westin Halifax Hotel. (Download invitation.)

The Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) believes Minister Regan’s announcement today amending Bill 102 is delivering on a pre-election promise and is a step in bringing the certification and first contract negotiation process back in to balance. Minister Regan introduced amendments to the Trade Union Act that will ensure the Labour Board can only impose a first agreement if it determines there was bad faith bargaining.

“CANS has always supported the long-established principles and practices of businesses and their employees engaging in free collective bargaining,” says Duncan Williams, CANS President. “While ultimately we would have liked to see the Bill repealed, today’s announcement helps bring that process back in to balance.”

“CANS’ position on First Contract Arbitration, one shared by many industry groups in Nova Scotia, is that its introduction was unnecessary and disrespectful to long standing labour relations best practices,” adds Williams. “Further, its aggressive nature was a potential deterrent to potential business investment in our province.”

“It also introduced unrealistic levels of uncertainty that businesses could view as significant exposure to uncontrollable risk,” adds Williams. “Today’s amendments will remove much of that uncertainty.”

“Currently parties do not have to prove that anyone is bargaining in bad faith and can simply run out the clock,” says Williams. “This is not in the spirit of true collective bargaining and does not encourage true negotiation and communication between parties.” In a pre-election survey CANS questioned each Party on the issue of First Contract Arbitration, the Liberal Party response was: A Liberal government will amend First Contract Arbitration legislation to ensure that parties have to prove that one party is bargaining in bad faith in order to go to arbitration.

“We are happy to see that this administration keep their election promise to amend First Contract Arbitration,” says Williams. “With these amendments Nova Scotia’s legislation is brought more in line with the federal government and other provinces.”

The amendments also remove the 120 day timeline and the Labour Board can choose to allow parties to continue to bargain, allow a strike or lockout, order more conciliation, or impose a contract.

“These amendments place far more obligation on each party to reach first contract before a third party arbitrator – potentially unfamiliar with the industry and a given firm’s structure – imposes a contract.”

CANS represents more than 760 large and small companies that build, renovate and restore non-residential buildings, roads, bridges and other engineering projects. We are an industry trade association representing the interests of contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country. Construction is a $2.8 billion a year industry in Nova Scotia and employs nearly 30,000 men and women from across the province.

Canstruction® Nova Scotia is a dynamic food and fundraising event in support of FEED NOVA SCOTIA, where teams come together to build incredible structures entirely out of canned food. At the end of it all, FEED NOVA SCOTIA distributes the food to member food banks and meal programs across the province. Awards are given out for Structural Ingenuity, Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Juror’s Favourite, Honourable Mention, and the public has their say as well with the People’s Choice Award! Interested in participating or in sponsorship of Canstruction® Nova Scotia, learn more.

BuildForce Canada has produced provincial Preliminary Investment Trends (2013 – 2018) reports . These reports provide initial insight into new major projects, maintenance, sustaining capital, and ongoing investment trends that are impacting constructionlabour markets. They serve as a precursor to the more detailed Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward 2014–2023 reports to be released in early 2014.

The information has been validated through consultations with government and industry, including owners, contractors, and labour groups.However, changes in anticipated project schedules can alter these expected trends. BuildForce Canada is monitoring economic conditions and the scheduling of major construction projects and will incorporate relevant changes into the new forecast scenario for release early in 2014. We hope you will find this information useful in the interim. We have also updated the Construction Map App to reflect the major projects that we are tracking. The Map App can be accessed at www.constructionmapapp.ca.